The Marian month in the sanctuary of Bussolengo is an ancient tradition. Since 1876, the year following the public exhibition of the Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in the church of St. Francis of Assisi, adjacent to the house of the Redemptorists, it has been celebrated uninterruptedly, as an awaited event, by the entire local community and those of the surrounding municipalities.
Many people, throughout the month, choose the Sanctuary as a prayer stop and a moment of strong spirituality. Many go to confession, finding welcome from the missionaries, always ready to administer the Mercy of God. The current Jubilee year is another reason for attraction for our sanctuary, which has been declared a Jubilee Church and which allows, within it, a spiritual journey, designed specifically for the Jubilee and accompanied by a booklet containing prayers and ideas for meditation.
Every day, for the entire month, the fathers of the community, in turn, commented on one of the mysteries of the Rosary. The last week, the most intense, opened with the preaching of Fr. Vincenzo La Mendola, parish priest in Rome and historian of the Congregation, specially invited by the community. From his arrival, Fr. Vincenzo broke the Word of God, for the assembly of the celebration at 9:00 and for that at 19:00. He concentrated on the femininity of Mary, drawing inspiration from a publication by Anna Maria Canopi, Ecco Tua Madre. Maria nella Scrittura e nella vita della Chiesa (Ed. San Paolo 2005). Starting from the reflections of the founder of the Benedictine monastery on the Island of San Giulio, he developed the following themes: Mary woman of God, strong woman, joyful woman, woman open to relationships, woman of the beatitudes, attracting the attention and appreciation of the faithful.
This year’s Marian month also falls within the framework of the special celebrations, promoted by the Redemptorist community, for the 150th anniversary of the first exhibition of the icon in Bussolengo (8 July 1875). In this regard, Fr. La Mendola, in his capacity as archivist and historian, was asked to give a conference on The Cult of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Bussolengo. He did so on the evening of Friday 30 May, entertaining the participants on the origins, the historical itinerary, and the ways in which the Redemptorist missionaries established and developed the Marian cult in Bussolengo. What emerged was a story full of names, places, dynamics, with extensive, timely citations, which gave us some suggestions on these long 150 years. The writer Lino Cattabinachi from Pescantina, present at the event, has already forwarded a report to the newspaper L’Arena, soon to be published.
But the highlight of the entire week was the long-awaited last day, when the feast of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary was celebrated. The celebration was presided over by the Vicar General of the Diocese, Monsignor Osvaldo Checchini, and concelebrated by the Fathers and some priests of the Vicariate, including the co-parish priest, Don Claudio Vallicella, and Don Francesco Lampronti, assistant parish priest of the pastoral unit, responsible for Youth Ministry. The Alphonsian Choir animated the celebrations, and the altar servers who usually attend the celebrations in our sanctuary provided their liturgical service. The vigil Mass of the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord was celebrated.
At the end of the concelebration, attended by numerous faithful, the procession unfolded with the icon of the Madonna, placed on the artistic sedan chair, carried on the shoulders of the group of Alpine troops of the Bussolengo section, who have their headquarters in the small church of San Micheletto, adjacent to our Sanctuary. All in uniform, the Alpine troops, with great decorum, took turns in supporting the processional carriage, preceded by the cross, and by the musical band and the clergy, and followed by a large, collected, and devoted population.
The procession, as usual, stopped at the Orlandi hospital in Bussolengo. We were welcomed in the square of the building by the chaplain Don Roberto Tamellini, who, after welcoming us, addressed a few words to those present, concluding with a prayer to the Madonna, invoked by the sick.
The second stop was in the churchyard of the parish of S. Maria Maggiore. The parish priest Don Diego Righetti offered the participants a Marian meditation, forcefully asking everyone to pray for peace and concluding with a prayer by Don Tonino Bello. Through the main streets of the historic center, the procession, animated with songs and the prayer of the Rosary, led by Father Vincenzo, headed towards the sanctuary. Once in the square, the preacher held, as per tradition, his last Marian thought, inviting us to take refuge under the patronage of the Virgin and to turn to Her, who wanted to choose this place, to dispense her graces and her consolation. The Vicar General concluded with the Act of Entrustment to Mary and the blessing.
The entrance of the sacred image into the sanctuary concluded the Marian evening. Many faithful took turns to pray and greet the Madonna.
To crown this intense month, on June 1st, from 9:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., the usual Night of the Sanctuaries took place, a moment of prayer extended into two parts. The first part with the Eucharistic exposition and meditation on the mysteries of the Rosary, drawing on the encyclical Dilexit nos, and the second in the Franciscan cloister, with silent adoration and Eucharistic blessing, in an evocative setting of soft lights and a climate of strong prayer. Fr. Gilberto Silvestri led the prayer.
We thank all those who, in various ways and forms, have made possible the initiatives of this Jubilee Year, which will still have other stages in the calendar, to remember this long journey, travelled over the last 150 years, in the shadow of Mary.
The editorial staff of The Perpetual Help of Mary
